Blogs

Intellectual Property Webinar Series

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will co-host a free webinar series to help business owners understand the intellectual property process, starting on Tuesday, December 9.

This three-part webinar series will provide participants with insightful tips for success on getting a patent or registering a trademark or copyright. Tune in and get answers from USPTO and U.S. Copyright Office senior intellectual property experts Elizabeth Dougherty, Anthony Knight, Susan Anthony, Craig Morris, and Sylvester Simpkins. The information shared will help you protect and promote your intellectual property rights.

The latest version of the Bank’s widely-watched report shows that many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have adopted reforms related to starting a business, protecting investors, paying taxes and registering property. Five of 10 countries listed for a “most improved” business climate – Benin, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Democratic Republic of Congo – were in Sub-Saharan Africa.

While showing significant improvement in many of the factors that are needed to attract private investment, the report also serves to underscore some of the persistent challenges to doing business on the continent. Among those African countries that made the most-improved list, only one, the Democratic Republic of Congo, was recognized for adopting reforms related specifically to accessing electricity, a key challenge throughout the continent that severely limits business activity.

The Southern University Law Center and Kean Miller, LLP, hosted the Louisiana Diversity Forum on Oct. 30 in Baton Rouge, La. The forum included several panel discussions and speaker presentations focused on diversity and inclusion with respect to commerce, business, workplaces, and legal education.

Candace Shiver, Special Advisor to the National Director of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) participated as a panelist during the event. Her panel, where she was joined by representatives from Exxon Mobil Corporation and GE Foundation, had a special emphasis on corporate supplier diversity. Together, the panelists discussed and provided critical insight and perspectives on why and how more U.S businesses are achieving diversity and inclusion by building strategic inclusive business models.

Providing context during the panel discussion to the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Shiver stated “At the time of MBDA’s founding in 1969, and for a number of years thereafter, many argued for minority inclusion as a matter of right or equal opportunity.” “Fast forward 45 years, and today we’re recognizing at MBDA how much of a business imperative it is to engage minority-owned companies – to not only open the door, but to also keep the door open - in order for corporations to remain viable and grow increasingly competitive worldwide.”

Whether you’re a small employer or a sole proprietor whose enrollment opened Nov. 15, the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) can help you find health coverage for yourself and your employees. Find out how the SHOP Marketplace can help you get health coverage if you have fewer than 50 employees at: https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/provide-shop-coverage/.

If you have 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, the SHOP Marketplace offers you a choice of plans. Remember that you can enroll in SHOP coverage at any time throughout the year, using an agent, broker, or insurance company that offers SHOP Qualified Health Plans. This website will get you started: https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/employers/.

The Minority Business Development Agency is the only federal agency dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of U.S. minority-owned businesses; and most of our work is accomplished through our nationwide network of MBDA Business Centers and their work directly with the nation’s MBEs. While, we often report their successes in terms of contracts and capital obtained for MBEs, we rarely talk about how they do it. With this business center profile we hope to give you an inside look at one of our 44 Centers—the Washington, DC MBDA Business Center.

Led by Project Director Michael Bing, the Washington DC MBDA Business Center is known for their innovative approach to business development. In 2013, the Center developed and successfully launched a peer-to-peer business development cost-share program that creates portfolios consisting of no more than five firms that vary in size, but offer similar services based on their North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes.